'''Old Man Willow''' is a character in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. He was a willow in the [[Old Forest]] from which much of the Forest's hatred of [[walking]] things came. He might have been an [[Ents|Ent]] who had become tree-like, or possibly a [[Huorn]], as the Old Forest was originally part of the same primordial forest as [[Fangorn forest|Fangorn]].

'''Old Man Willow''' was a [[willows|willow]] in the [[Old Forest]] from which much of the Forest's hatred of walking things came. He might have been an [[Ents|Ent]] who had become tree-like, or possibly a [[Huorns|Huorn]], as the Old Forest was originally part of the same primordial forest as [[Fangorn Forest|Fangorn]].

[[Tom Bombadil]] had power over Old Man Willow, and checked the evil as much as he could, or was willing.

[[Tom Bombadil]] had power over Old Man Willow, and checked the evil as much as he could, or was willing.

−

Although he did not appear in the 2001 [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|movie adaptation]], a very similar episode with [[Bobbits]] being swallowed by a tree was included in the [[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)|second film]] where [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are attacked by a [[Huorn]] in [[Fangorn forest]].

+

Old Man Willow cast a spell on the hobbits ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]], [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]], Merry and Pippin ), causing them to feel sleepy. Merry and Pippin leant against the trunk and fell asleep, while Frodo sat on a root to dangle his feet in the water, before also falling asleep. The tree trapped Merry and Pippin in cracks in the trunk, and tipped Frodo into the stream.

−

In [[The Fellowship of the Ring]] book, Old Man Willow cast a spell on the hobbits ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]], [[Sam Gamgee|Sam]], Merry and Pippin ), causing them to feel sleepy. Merry and Pippin go and lean against the trunk and fall asleep, while Frodo sits on a root to dangle his feet in the water, before he also falls asleep. The tree traps Merry and Pippin in cracks in the trunk, and tips Frodo into the stream. They are saved by the timely arrival of Tom Bombadil.

+

Sam managed to fight off the spell and rescued Frodo from the stream. Together they attempted to save Merry and Pippin by lighting a fire at the tree's base, but this only served to infuriate Old Man Willow, who threatened to kill the trapped hobbits. They were saved by the timely arrival of Tom Bombadil.

+

+

==Portrayals in adaptations==

+

'''2002: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'':'''

+

:Although he did not appear in the 2001 [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|movie adaptation]], a very similar episode with [[Hobbits]] being swallowed by a tree was included in the [[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (extended edition)|extended edition]], where Merry and Pippin are swallowed by a Huorn in [[Fangorn Forest]], to be saved by [[Treebeard]].

+

+

===See also===

+

* [[:Category:Images of Old Man Willow|Images of Old Man Willow]]

+

+

[[Category:Trees]]

+

[[de:Alter Weidenmann]]

+

[[fr:encyclo/personnages/vieil_homme-saule]]

+

[[fi:Vanha Halavaukko]]

Revision as of 17:42, 30 September 2012

Old Man Willow was a willow in the Old Forest from which much of the Forest's hatred of walking things came. He might have been an Ent who had become tree-like, or possibly a Huorn, as the Old Forest was originally part of the same primordial forest as Fangorn.

Tom Bombadil had power over Old Man Willow, and checked the evil as much as he could, or was willing.

Old Man Willow cast a spell on the hobbits (Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin ), causing them to feel sleepy. Merry and Pippin leant against the trunk and fell asleep, while Frodo sat on a root to dangle his feet in the water, before also falling asleep. The tree trapped Merry and Pippin in cracks in the trunk, and tipped Frodo into the stream.

Sam managed to fight off the spell and rescued Frodo from the stream. Together they attempted to save Merry and Pippin by lighting a fire at the tree's base, but this only served to infuriate Old Man Willow, who threatened to kill the trapped hobbits. They were saved by the timely arrival of Tom Bombadil.